Plymouth's Delta Generators takes their blues into new places

Friday

Feb 28, 2014 at 7:27 PM

The classic setting for down-and-dirty rockin' blues is usually a gritty roadhouse, a no-frills honky tonk joint where shots and beers are flowing, and the music is only as rough-edged as the characters hearing it. No one in New England plays that classic style of rockin' blues better than the Plymouth quartet known as The Delta Generators.

But on Saturday night, the Delta Generators headline the Beal House in Kingston, which is the home base for the South Shore Folk Music Club, a genteel 'listening room' where the coffee and espresso might be strong, but the most wicked thing you can order is probably a brownie.

The Delta Generators are celebrating their third album, "Get On the Horse," which was largely funded by fans through a Pledge Music campaign, and was mixed by the acclaimed David Z, who's worked with some of the biggest names in the blues music world. The DGs are Plymouth brothers Rick O'Neal on bass, Charlie O'Neal on guitar, Kingston's Jeff Armstrong on drums, and Worcester's Craig Rawding on vocals.

The latest album, which has had its national release delayed while the band fields offers from various labels, is a conscious effort to continue expanding the band's sound, branching out from the classic Chicago-style blues they started with in 2008, and touchign upon rock, funk and even some jazzy slide guitar numbers.

"I think one of our strengths as a band is that we can work in a listening room like the Beal House, or a nightclub, or be even more dynamic in a bigger venue," said Rick O'Neal from his Plymouth studio. "We have played a few rooms like this before, and it will probably not be a full-on roadhouse gig, for example. We have played a lot of house concerts too, and in those cases we try and play to the crowd, adjust our set to what the people want."

One of the DGs' first coffeehouse gigs was at the Vanilla Bean Coffeehouse in Pomfret, Connecticut, which is run by folksinger Maria Sangiolo and her husband. They had to convince the band to try that initial gig in their intimate venue.

"We thought we'd be way too loud for the Vanilla Bean when they asked us, four years ago," said Rick O'Neal. "But we made some adjustments, catered to the crowd, and it worked out very well. House concerts have been the same way, and we have really honed our house concert skills now, to the point where we have a video of a house concert on our website for people to check out.

"It's just smart strategy today, when so many people don't want to go out to bars, to do these other types of venues," said Rick O'Neal. "And the Beal House is an all-ages show, and we love to do those and introduce the kids to some real blues up close. Normally, playing bars you seldom get to do an all-ages show."

Local fans know that the DG's burst onto the scene in 2008, winning the Boston Blues Challenge in their first try, and finishing in the top ten of the national competition later that year in Memphis. Their sophomore album, 2011's "Hard River to Row," continued their musical progress, veering more into rock 'n' roll flavors, and utilizing even more of Charlie O'Neal's slide guitar. For their third album, the quartet wanted to keep pushing forward and up the ante with a proven studio wizard like David Z, a Grammy winner whose production work has included albums from Eric Clapton, Prince, and Buddy Guy, among others.

"David Z had been one of the judges at the 2008 Boston Blues Challenge," Rick O'Neal pointed out. "Afterwards they sent us all the judges' scoresheets, and his comments were very helpful. Charlie said 'Let's reach out and see if we can work with him on this album.' We contacted his management, sent them a hard drive with all our new tunes on it, and he loved the tracks. We sent everything out to California, where he was, and he mixed it in Encino, and it came out great. He also recommended Dave McNair (David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos) for the mastering process, another real pro, and so we had him do that part. But we've really enjoyed establishing a good relationship with David Z, and that whole thing has definitely been worthwhile--the album came out really well."

"We felt like we really had something to say this time," said Rick O'Neal. "In the end, having these extra hands involved, all these extra ears hearing the music, professional hands in the process, really paid off."

Rawding writes all the lyrics to the DGs' original songs, and then Armstrong helps with composition, and then the O'Neal brothers add their touches, so it's a collaborative process. Rawding has penned some interesting numbers, including "Night of the Johnstown Flood,' which is not so much a historical narrative as one man's perspective in that tragedy.

"I think this third album takes our expansion of the sound even further," said Rick O'Neal. "Charlie plays a lot more slide, and there's more edgy, hard-hitting rock elements. But there is also a funky, Prince-like r&b tune, so it's a nice mix of styles. I also think, at this point, we are tighter and smoother as a band, because we work hard at playing and writing the music."

O'Neal pointed to the heavy backbeat of the title cut as one standout song, and the emotional wallop of the slow blues treatment of "Night of the Johnstown Flood." The foursome also believes they may have a potential crossover single in "It's Been Hard," and we'd have to agree, as it's easy rolling soul aura evokes the best of Delbert McClinton or perhaps Leroy Parnell (both of whom invest a bit of twang into their soul).

"We had planned to do a CD release around the first of the year," Rick O'Neal noted. "But we have been holding our fire, while we listen to these record companies. Eventually we will release it to ITunes, Amazon.com, and record stores, and so on, but right now the new album is only available at shows, or through our website (www.deltagenerators.com)."

We mentioned that on March 8 the North Mississippi All Stars play The Paradise in Boston, and while that gets Boston-area fans rightfully excited, the Plymouth quartet might be just as compelling.

"We'd love to get to that level, touring outside New England," said O'Neal. "We've been going to upstate New York, and New York City, but we'd love to hit the international market too. But looking back, six years in, we're pretty happy with our progress and where we are as a band, but sure, we'd love to have the kind of audience a band like those guys have."

Delta Generators show begins at 8 p.m. at the Beal House, which is located on route 106 in Kingston. They also have a March 8 gig at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, a double-bill with HD R&B, a group led by Henley Douglas, who is, like Rawding, an alumnus of the Heavy Metal Horns. The DGs are also playing this summer's Salem Jazz & Soul Fest, and the late-August North River Blues Festival at the Marshfield Fair.

The classic setting for down-and-dirty rockin' blues is usually a gritty roadhouse, a no-frills honky tonk joint where shots and beers are flowing, and the music is only as rough-edged as the characters hearing it. No one in New England plays that classic style of rockin' blues better than the Plymouth quartet known as The Delta Generators.
But on Saturday night, the Delta Generators headline the Beal House in Kingston, which is the home base for the South Shore Folk Music Club, a genteel 'listening room' where the coffee and espresso might be strong, but the most wicked thing you can order is probably a brownie.
The Delta Generators are celebrating their third album, "Get On the Horse," which was largely funded by fans through a Pledge Music campaign, and was mixed by the acclaimed David Z, who's worked with some of the biggest names in the blues music world. The DGs are Plymouth brothers Rick O'Neal on bass, Charlie O'Neal on guitar, Kingston's Jeff Armstrong on drums, and Worcester's Craig Rawding on vocals.
The latest album, which has had its national release delayed while the band fields offers from various labels, is a conscious effort to continue expanding the band's sound, branching out from the classic Chicago-style blues they started with in 2008, and touchign upon rock, funk and even some jazzy slide guitar numbers.
"I think one of our strengths as a band is that we can work in a listening room like the Beal House, or a nightclub, or be even more dynamic in a bigger venue," said Rick O'Neal from his Plymouth studio. "We have played a few rooms like this before, and it will probably not be a full-on roadhouse gig, for example. We have played a lot of house concerts too, and in those cases we try and play to the crowd, adjust our set to what the people want."
One of the DGs' first coffeehouse gigs was at the Vanilla Bean Coffeehouse in Pomfret, Connecticut, which is run by folksinger Maria Sangiolo and her husband. They had to convince the band to try that initial gig in their intimate venue.
"We thought we'd be way too loud for the Vanilla Bean when they asked us, four years ago," said Rick O'Neal. "But we made some adjustments, catered to the crowd, and it worked out very well. House concerts have been the same way, and we have really honed our house concert skills now, to the point where we have a video of a house concert on our website for people to check out.
"It's just smart strategy today, when so many people don't want to go out to bars, to do these other types of venues," said Rick O'Neal. "And the Beal House is an all-ages show, and we love to do those and introduce the kids to some real blues up close. Normally, playing bars you seldom get to do an all-ages show."
Local fans know that the DG's burst onto the scene in 2008, winning the Boston Blues Challenge in their first try, and finishing in the top ten of the national competition later that year in Memphis. Their sophomore album, 2011's "Hard River to Row," continued their musical progress, veering more into rock 'n' roll flavors, and utilizing even more of Charlie O'Neal's slide guitar. For their third album, the quartet wanted to keep pushing forward and up the ante with a proven studio wizard like David Z, a Grammy winner whose production work has included albums from Eric Clapton, Prince, and Buddy Guy, among others.
"David Z had been one of the judges at the 2008 Boston Blues Challenge," Rick O'Neal pointed out. "Afterwards they sent us all the judges' scoresheets, and his comments were very helpful. Charlie said 'Let's reach out and see if we can work with him on this album.' We contacted his management, sent them a hard drive with all our new tunes on it, and he loved the tracks. We sent everything out to California, where he was, and he mixed it in Encino, and it came out great. He also recommended Dave McNair (David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos) for the mastering process, another real pro, and so we had him do that part. But we've really enjoyed establishing a good relationship with David Z, and that whole thing has definitely been worthwhile--the album came out really well."
"We felt like we really had something to say this time," said Rick O'Neal. "In the end, having these extra hands involved, all these extra ears hearing the music, professional hands in the process, really paid off."
Rawding writes all the lyrics to the DGs' original songs, and then Armstrong helps with composition, and then the O'Neal brothers add their touches, so it's a collaborative process. Rawding has penned some interesting numbers, including "Night of the Johnstown Flood,' which is not so much a historical narrative as one man's perspective in that tragedy.
"I think this third album takes our expansion of the sound even further," said Rick O'Neal. "Charlie plays a lot more slide, and there's more edgy, hard-hitting rock elements. But there is also a funky, Prince-like r&b tune, so it's a nice mix of styles. I also think, at this point, we are tighter and smoother as a band, because we work hard at playing and writing the music."
O'Neal pointed to the heavy backbeat of the title cut as one standout song, and the emotional wallop of the slow blues treatment of "Night of the Johnstown Flood." The foursome also believes they may have a potential crossover single in "It's Been Hard," and we'd have to agree, as it's easy rolling soul aura evokes the best of Delbert McClinton or perhaps Leroy Parnell (both of whom invest a bit of twang into their soul).
"We had planned to do a CD release around the first of the year," Rick O'Neal noted. "But we have been holding our fire, while we listen to these record companies. Eventually we will release it to ITunes, Amazon.com, and record stores, and so on, but right now the new album is only available at shows, or through our website (www.deltagenerators.com)."
We mentioned that on March 8 the North Mississippi All Stars play The Paradise in Boston, and while that gets Boston-area fans rightfully excited, the Plymouth quartet might be just as compelling.
"We'd love to get to that level, touring outside New England," said O'Neal. "We've been going to upstate New York, and New York City, but we'd love to hit the international market too. But looking back, six years in, we're pretty happy with our progress and where we are as a band, but sure, we'd love to have the kind of audience a band like those guys have."
Delta Generators show begins at 8 p.m. at the Beal House, which is located on route 106 in Kingston. They also have a March 8 gig at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, a double-bill with HD R&B, a group led by Henley Douglas, who is, like Rawding, an alumnus of the Heavy Metal Horns. The DGs are also playing this summer's Salem Jazz & Soul Fest, and the late-August North River Blues Festival at the Marshfield Fair.